In a sense, Jesus’ ministry starts in the water. He’s launches into his ministry at his baptism, when the Father declares who Jesus is, “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” But before formally starting his ministry, Jesus faces temptation in the wilderness. Satan tempts him to believe and behave like an earthly king. But Jesus rejects Satan’s offer of earthly comfort, success, and power, and chooses instead to be a different kind of king, ruling over a different kind of kingdom. Read the full text here. 

Last week we talked about the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry; about his baptism and about how, immediately after that baptism, Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness and sought to tempt him away from his identity and his ministry. How Satan tried to get him to behave and believe like an earthly king: to trust in himself and his abilities and his power rather than in God the Father. And we talked about how Jesus passed the test, rejecting Satan’s temptations, showing how he would be a different kind of king, with a different kind of kingdom based not on earthly comforts, popularity, or power, but on love. He was finally ready to enter into his earthly ministry. Read the full text here. 

Jesus has just been baptized in the Jordan river. The Holy Spirit has descended upon him like a dove and God the Father has just declared, “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Up to this point in the story of Jesus’ life, we know very little about him, other than the remarkable circumstances surrounding his birth. But with his baptism, and God’s affirmation, Jesus is just about ready to enter into his earthly ministry. Read the full text here. 

This is the third and final Sunday in our generosity initiative, “In God’s Image.” So, here’s where I hope we all are after the first two weeks. First, I hope we all recognize that we are created in the image of a God who is supremely generous; a God who loves us so much that he gave his only Son for our salvation. In other words, we are created to live generously—to give freely of our time, our attention, our abilities and gifts, and of our material resources. We were created to give as Jesus gave. Read the full text here.

Paul was on his way to Jerusalem from the last of his three missionary journeys. The Holy Spirit had informed him that trouble was waiting for him in Jerusalem, so he took time to visit with some of the churches he has started and nurtured. And among those visits was one with the elders of the church in Ephesus. Paul lived, worked, and ministered in Ephesus for two years, the longest time he spent in one place during his entire ministry. So, the Ephesian church had a special place in his heart. Read the full text here. 

We just finished up our WWJD sermon series, what would Jesus do? Today we’re starting up a new series, “In God’s Image,” which is about generosity. And, in a way, this series is just a continuation of the other one, just more narrowly focused on generosity. And so, let’s start this series asking: when it comes to generosity, what would Jesus do? Read the full text here. 

So, I’ll just tell you up front, I don’t want to do this sermon. Today, I’m supposed to talk about how following Jesus involves sacrifice. And I’m guessing you want to hear about sacrifice about as much as I want to preach about it. Especially right after Christmas. I mean, that was so great, wasn’t it. The kids and the candle light. The warmth. The peace. The little baby wrapped up tight in the manger. It’s a lot more comfortable to talk about that stuff than to talk about sacrifice. Read the full text here. 

Simon had heard about Jesus. He’d heard the stories of healings and miracles. He’d heard how people were calling him a prophet. Of course, Simon had also heard about Jesus’ preaching, and it sounded like nonsense. Things like the first shall be last and the last first; things like God’s special favor for the marginalized, the outcast, and the downtrodden. It sounded to him like this Jesus was incredibly naïve. But Simon couldn’t deny that Jesus was, at least for the moment, a hot commodity. Read the full text here.

The Pharisees were desperate. It was clear that this guy represented a threat. Some people claimed he was a prophet. Others claimed he was the Messiah—the king of the Jews. Some even claimed he was the Son of God. And a few of the Pharisees had heard how he claimed for himself the authority to forgive sins. Read the full text here.